HISD goes on hunt for dropout students

Updated 1:54 am, Saturday, September 1, 2012

HISD Superintendent Terry Grier warned principals they won't like it when they start losing teachers from their schools.

HISD Superintendent Terry Grier warned principals they won't like it when they start losing teachers from their schools.

Photo: Brett Coomer

HISD goes on hunt for dropout students

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HISD Superintendent Terry Grier is encouraging teachers and other staff to take time this holiday weekend to recruit students back to school after enrollment the first week of class dropped from last year.

The Houston Independent School District counted 197,701 students Friday, the fifth day of class at most campuses.

Enrollment was down 763 students from the same day last year and is nearly 2,200 students shy of principals' projections for later in the fall. More students typically arrive after Labor Day.

Still, Grier urged school officials to contact missing students as soon as possible to ensure the campuses don't lose funding for teachers. HISD funds schools based on their number of students.

"It will be very unpleasant for principals when we begin to take away teachers (even at the high school level) to reflect actual enrollments," Grier wrote in an email to staff Thursday. "This long weekend is an excellent time for teams of teachers, administrators, and support staff to call and even visit homes."

Other large districts in the area - Aldine, Conroe, Cypress-Fairbanks, Fort Bend and Pasadena - reported higher enrollments. Like HISD, they expect more students to show in coming weeks.

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Cy-Fair ISD, the second-largest district in the area, counted 108,786 students Thursday, up more than 2,600 from a year ago. The fast-growing northwest Harris County district expects to top 110,000 later this year.

HISD, the biggest district in Texas, will need to grow by about 5,200 students to reach its official enrollment last school year: 202,911. The state collects enrollment data in October.

Lupita Hinojosa, an administrator over support services for schools, said principals, staff and her central-office team called missing students last week and will hold a phone bank next week.

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NEW YEAR, FEWER STUDENTS

• 197,701Total number of students enrolled in HISD as of Friday (the fifth day of class).

• 763Decrease from the number of students enrolled in HISD on the fifth day last year.

• 2,184Fewer students enrolled from what HISD principals had projected for this year.

Staff and volunteers then will visit students' homes next Saturday as part of the district's annual Grads Within Reach walk, an effort to enroll dropouts or no-shows. Other local districts will hold similar walks.

Hinojosa said she expects more students, particularly those from low-income families, to enroll in coming weeks.

"Our families sometimes experience challenges," Hinojosa said. "Maybe they didn't get their uniforms in time, and they don't have their school supplies."

Government-assistance checks typically arrive at the end of the month, she added, and families that move for rent specials at apartments may just be moving in this weekend.

"Our principals have been at it since day two," Hinojosa continued. "I assure you, our kids will come back to school."

Enrollment is down the most at HISD's high schools, while 779 more kindergarten students showed up compared with last year.

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Fifteen of the 20 schools in Grier's signature academic reform program, called Apollo, also have seen fewer students this year. Those middle and high schools have had more time to enroll students, as they started classes a week earlier than the rest of HISD.

Studies have shown that students' academic success can be affected if they miss as few as five days of school, said Marie Groark, executive director of Get Schooled Foundation, a Seattle nonprofit that focuses on attendance. "Students and their parents need to realize how important it is to get to school all day, everyday," she said.